4H 
Juveniles. 
71. So far as mere numbers are concernsd, the juvenile problem 
Is the most manageable in size, though in many ways the most 
urgent, of the various parts of the whole transfer problem. The 
demand for juvenile labour in the country gensrally is steady and 
effective, and the incidence of unemployment upon juveniles is, 
for the country as a whole, appreciably lighter than upon adults. 
There is, too, a further factor likely to stimulate the competition 
for juvenile labour in the next few years (para. 48). As a result 
of the fall in the birth rate in the early years of the war, the 
number of boys and girls leaving school will steadily diminish until 
1934. There will then be an upward movement for a few years, 
followed by a further decline. These facts are already appreciated 
by far-sighted employers. 
72. Canvassing to find vacancies for boys from the de- 
pressed areas has been going on for some time, and a certain 
number have already been placed in new employment in other 
areas. In so far as the jobs found have made it necessary for the 
boys to live away from home, it has only been possible to effect 
placings in occupations where the wage paid is sufficient to meet 
the cost of board and lodging. Many vacancies, however, where 
such wages are not payable (especially in trades offering training 
in skilled employment) have been notified. In some few cases 
the boys may have relatives with whom they can lodge; in some 
the gap between wages and the cost of maintenance has already 
been narrowed by the public-spirited offer of employers to pay an 
extra allowance to juveniles transferred from the depressed areas. 
We hope that these offers will be .extended. Local Authorities, 
too, have offered to co-operate. Where such co-operation by 
employers and others is offered we think it would be legitimate that 
some of the voluntary funds collscted in response to the Lord 
Mayor’s Appeal should be used to bridge the gap still remaining, 
and, in fact, a start has already been made in applying a portion 
of the money subscribed to this purpose. 
73. The Local Education Authorities, who in most of the large 
industrial towns in England and Wales outside London, are re- 
sponsible for the work of placing juveniles, are co-operating with 
the Ministry of Labour in the search for vacancies in the areas 
nnder their control, and we look to them for an important contri- 
bution to the problem. Some of these Authorities with their special 
local responsibilities may feel reluctance to welcome to their 
areas juveniles from other areas. We have heard already of 
cases in which Authorities are looking forward with equanimity 
to the coming shortage in their areas; they see in it only the 
possibilities of benefiting the position of the Juveniles already in 
their charge. It would be regrettable if this short-sighted attitude